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Organization of Gamers
, our mascot]] The Organization of Gamers & Roleplaying Enthusiasts (O.G.R.E.s) is an international network of gamers dedicated to promoting tabletop and adventure gaming in all its forms. The international leadership works with self-governing local chapters to provide resources for and promote fellowship among gamers. O.G.R.E.s is a non-profit organization previously incorporated in the Commonwealth of Kentucky but now headquartered in Tallinn, Estonia. While several organizations exist to promote a particular game, gaming style, company, system, or specific geographical area, OGREs exists to promote all forms of communal gaming anywhere it can be found. Organization Name The full legal name of the organization is "OGREs: The Organization of Gamers & Roleplaying Enthusiasts, Inc.," but the group is more commonly known as “the OGREs.” Individual members are often referred to as “Ogres.” To avoid confusion, we use all caps (with or without acronym periods) to refer to the organization as a whole and an initial capital “O” to refer to individual members. Lower-case-“o” “ogres” are the big guys with clubs who killed your Magic-User. __NOEDITSECTION__ History The O.G.R.E.s began in Las Vegas, Nevada with a group of tabletop gamers who adopted the moniker of Sin City Ogres on May 24th, 2005. The following year, tabletop gamers from Paducah, Kentucky found the chapter via the internet and asked for permission to use the name and logo for their gaming group, forming the Quilt City Ogres. As members went away to college and moved to nearby cities, they took the O.G.R.E.s name with them, forming what would become the Soil Ogres, Saluki City Ogres, and Derby City Ogres chapters. With the formation of new chapters becoming more prevalent over the course of the next two years, the Quilt City Ogres spearheaded the O.G.R.E.s' formal incorporation as a non-profit organization. This expansion would eventually find over 40 chapters in varying degrees of activity across three continents. In 2015, the Quilt City Ogres handed the reigns over to a new mother-chapter in Europe, and now OGREs of America is a loose coalition of gaming enthusiasts while OGREs of Europe are the growing integrated entity. Chapter Structure The O.G.R.E.s are organized into communities called Chapters (or Tribes). Each chapter is made up of gamers or gaming groups who share the same geographical or digital space and play tabletop and adventure games together. Every chapter is administered by two officers: a Chapter Coordinator (CC) and a Senior Game Master (SGM). The CC handles the non-gaming aspects of the chapter (i.e. recruitment, communication with O.G.R.E.s, etc. More Info) while the SGM handles gaming-related chapter items (i.e. scheduling, dispute resolution, etc. More Info). Chapters may elect or appoint officers to fulfil other roles as needed. For example, some chapters may choose to select a Treasurer or Community Manager (online admin) or Community Liaison (public relations) to help spread out some of the Chapter Coordinator's responsibilities. In addition to the officer aforementioned officer requirements, all chapters agree to abide by the O.G.R.E. Constitution. Beyond these requirements, the specifics of how a chapter operates is entirely up to the members of that chapter based on the gaming habits and abilities/availabilities of chapter members. As such, the organizational details vary greatly from one chapter to the next. More information about chapters and a listing of current chapters can be found here. Founding a Chapter Any gaming group may form an OGRE chapter. The typical naming format for a new OGRE chapter is Town's Nickname Here Ogres. For example, Las Vegas is referred to as "Sin City," so the Las Vegas OGRE chapter is known as the "Sin City Ogres". Chapters are encouraged to use the Oggie the Ogre logo (modified to include the chapter name) to provide branding for both the chapter and the organization as a whole. For more information and a detailed guide on forming a chapter, visit the New Chapter Portal. Benefits of O.G.R.E. Membership Using the OGRE name and logo allows you to establish an identity for your gaming community, which can be useful for public relations and recruitment. A strong group identity makes it easier to introduce new players into the hobby and let gamers who have recently moved to your community know about your group. It can also be useful when dealing with local businesses and organizations; for example, if you want to rent out space for a game day or try to arrange a member discount with your friendly neighborhood game store. Most people simply feel more comfortable when dealing with an established organization than with a vaguely defined group of people who play imagination games. In addition to branding your gaming group as a member of the OGREs, forming a chapter provides your gaming group with access to the national OGRE network, which can be a valuable source of gaming expertise, advice, and fellowship. As O.G.R.E. continues to grow, we hope to expand the benefits available to all members. Ogres Membership Handbook To view the wiki version of the Ogres Membership Handbook, please click here. Contact To reach O.G.R.E.s, contact the Director of Communications. For a listing of active Ogres who contribute to Ogres Wiki, please see here. External Links *Kentucky Secretary of State Info Page on OGREs *Facebook Group *Wizards of the Coast Community Group ---- Back To: Ogres Wiki → Organization of Gamers & Roleplaying Enthusiasts → Ogres Portal Category:Ogres Category:Browse